Post by Truth on Nov 24, 2013 18:08:36 GMT -5
Our latest Transcendent, our latest Royal.
Approved by an overwhelming margin for his colorful and varied history as a character on Bleach Gotei I would like to personally congratulate him on this achievement. As will be the case with all future Transcendentals, an announcement topic will be made.
Where to start, what to say?
I cannot speak for any of you. I won't try to. I will only speak for myself here and I encourage you all to respond, pat him on the back, or call him a hippie loser. Whichever floats your boat.
March 2011 seems so long ago. That's when he joined, or thereabouts, for any of you wondering. Right away I had a feeling about the guy, despite how extremely deferential he acted. Saw right through it, as if anyone couldn't when he actively used Japanese honorifics in casual conversation. It was the most ridiculous thing! Don't even get me started on the constant misdirection and screening he did. How long did it take me to learn his real name?
Oh, that's right, I had to dig it up for myself!
Back to the man in question.
Right away he took on a role of sorts I could appreciate with his character. Fourth Division? Check. Scientist? Check. Somewhat misguided but with pure intentions? Check. He was, in many ways, like Tova as a Shinigami! More than that, I felt as though he would become a force to reckoned with.
Oh boy did he. Just through casual conversation I got to know the guy a bit more, got to peek a bit behind the iron curtain he kept between himself and everyone else here. It wasn't an easy task, but very worth it. Whether we just joked about the efficacy of combining Shou and Geki together (you know you love it) or something else entirely, he was very much the sort of person I could relate with and see achieving great things here.
Then to learn that this was his first experience of this sort? I was beyond impressed because he just kept giving.
His activity was immense, especially at the beginning. At the time I wasn't keeping up at all and I got to watch him soar. He made connections, brought friends, and met people more than a little dear to him. I had the honor of capturing a Lieutenant and turning him into the Captain of the division, the previous Captain having been a role model of his that sent him down a path of decided vengeance. I had the honor of turning him into a Vaizard and being the man behind his rise to Prestige, back before the idea of Prestige was even recognized! The fight itself was one I won't ever forget, an event immortalized in the actions of Solitary Confinement. Crimes for Science, the one that included his capture, even included our beloved Garra before his initial departure from our community!
I still tease him that the thread immediately after ours, chronologically, had him as the Captain. Apparently for a while. Yet he was a Lieutenant just five minutes ago...
Huh.
He'll never get out from under that one, I promise you that.
And boy have we had a ride since. Even the failed invasion of Seireitei was an incredible experience with him. We tried like hell to kill Kenshou. We played off of each other perfectly to boot, it was truly a wondrous sight. At least for me!
Kenshou's still alive, though, and I'm quite happy about that.
I think our next great collaboration came a while afterwards. That is to say, the conception of the idea for Jack the Ripper. The idea to kidnap Tori and fake her murder. All of it was us working together and, despite the drama that ensued (yes, drama over IC actions!), it was great fun. I loved it and wouldn't trade it for the world. Despite the criticisms I still really enjoyed the Jack the Ripper chapter.
And, well, the first chance to really work out as a Royal in a climactic battle against someone much more powerful than me? Just as Solitary Confinement was my first Legendary Challenge, this new Sword Without Sheathe was my second. I'm still incredibly happy with how that scene turned out, the perfect defeat of Jack the Ripper and an the amazing example of what real strength of character a Royal, a Transcendental, truly has.
Now we come full circle. If Mitsutaka is who Tova could have been as a Shinigami then Alter Tova is Mitsutaka's antithesis in many ways. So to have their conflicts become Tova versus Mitsutaka, Tova versus Jack the Ripper, and now Alter Tova versus Mitsutaka? Yes. I wouldn't have it any other way, a perfect balance and a unique sort of storytelling that I wouldn't trade for the world. There's meaning there and I enjoy it greatly.
Just as Tova overcame Mitsutaka's fakery, Mitsutaka has overcome the fakery of Alter Tova.
Although he lost his first two battles with me in brilliant style, this final battle was one of entirely different nature. It was a battle of words, ideas, a true fight. When Mitsutaka finally let go, finally let himself be himself, he was able to defeat the Tova that had never done that for himself in a way far more powerful than phyiscal confrontation.
The entire ride and all of our fights are experiences that truly shaped my own character and, certainly, many more. Now the character has left it's shell, the man has dropped his crutches, and we get to see the person beneath it all.
The execution was grand, the result better than I could have hoped.
Please, join me in welcoming our newest Transcendent.
Congratulations, my friend.
Approved by an overwhelming margin for his colorful and varied history as a character on Bleach Gotei I would like to personally congratulate him on this achievement. As will be the case with all future Transcendentals, an announcement topic will be made.
Where to start, what to say?
I cannot speak for any of you. I won't try to. I will only speak for myself here and I encourage you all to respond, pat him on the back, or call him a hippie loser. Whichever floats your boat.
March 2011 seems so long ago. That's when he joined, or thereabouts, for any of you wondering. Right away I had a feeling about the guy, despite how extremely deferential he acted. Saw right through it, as if anyone couldn't when he actively used Japanese honorifics in casual conversation. It was the most ridiculous thing! Don't even get me started on the constant misdirection and screening he did. How long did it take me to learn his real name?
Oh, that's right, I had to dig it up for myself!
Back to the man in question.
Right away he took on a role of sorts I could appreciate with his character. Fourth Division? Check. Scientist? Check. Somewhat misguided but with pure intentions? Check. He was, in many ways, like Tova as a Shinigami! More than that, I felt as though he would become a force to reckoned with.
Oh boy did he. Just through casual conversation I got to know the guy a bit more, got to peek a bit behind the iron curtain he kept between himself and everyone else here. It wasn't an easy task, but very worth it. Whether we just joked about the efficacy of combining Shou and Geki together (you know you love it) or something else entirely, he was very much the sort of person I could relate with and see achieving great things here.
Then to learn that this was his first experience of this sort? I was beyond impressed because he just kept giving.
His activity was immense, especially at the beginning. At the time I wasn't keeping up at all and I got to watch him soar. He made connections, brought friends, and met people more than a little dear to him. I had the honor of capturing a Lieutenant and turning him into the Captain of the division, the previous Captain having been a role model of his that sent him down a path of decided vengeance. I had the honor of turning him into a Vaizard and being the man behind his rise to Prestige, back before the idea of Prestige was even recognized! The fight itself was one I won't ever forget, an event immortalized in the actions of Solitary Confinement. Crimes for Science, the one that included his capture, even included our beloved Garra before his initial departure from our community!
I still tease him that the thread immediately after ours, chronologically, had him as the Captain. Apparently for a while. Yet he was a Lieutenant just five minutes ago...
Huh.
He'll never get out from under that one, I promise you that.
And boy have we had a ride since. Even the failed invasion of Seireitei was an incredible experience with him. We tried like hell to kill Kenshou. We played off of each other perfectly to boot, it was truly a wondrous sight. At least for me!
Kenshou's still alive, though, and I'm quite happy about that.
I think our next great collaboration came a while afterwards. That is to say, the conception of the idea for Jack the Ripper. The idea to kidnap Tori and fake her murder. All of it was us working together and, despite the drama that ensued (yes, drama over IC actions!), it was great fun. I loved it and wouldn't trade it for the world. Despite the criticisms I still really enjoyed the Jack the Ripper chapter.
And, well, the first chance to really work out as a Royal in a climactic battle against someone much more powerful than me? Just as Solitary Confinement was my first Legendary Challenge, this new Sword Without Sheathe was my second. I'm still incredibly happy with how that scene turned out, the perfect defeat of Jack the Ripper and an the amazing example of what real strength of character a Royal, a Transcendental, truly has.
Now we come full circle. If Mitsutaka is who Tova could have been as a Shinigami then Alter Tova is Mitsutaka's antithesis in many ways. So to have their conflicts become Tova versus Mitsutaka, Tova versus Jack the Ripper, and now Alter Tova versus Mitsutaka? Yes. I wouldn't have it any other way, a perfect balance and a unique sort of storytelling that I wouldn't trade for the world. There's meaning there and I enjoy it greatly.
Just as Tova overcame Mitsutaka's fakery, Mitsutaka has overcome the fakery of Alter Tova.
Although he lost his first two battles with me in brilliant style, this final battle was one of entirely different nature. It was a battle of words, ideas, a true fight. When Mitsutaka finally let go, finally let himself be himself, he was able to defeat the Tova that had never done that for himself in a way far more powerful than phyiscal confrontation.
The entire ride and all of our fights are experiences that truly shaped my own character and, certainly, many more. Now the character has left it's shell, the man has dropped his crutches, and we get to see the person beneath it all.
The execution was grand, the result better than I could have hoped.
Please, join me in welcoming our newest Transcendent.
Congratulations, my friend.